A simplified discontinuous deformation analysis for simulating rock fall

Rockfall is a frequent engineering disaster confronted by constructions in mountain areas. The design of preventive structure is based on the evaluation of the rockfall trajectory. So it is very important to properly calculate the rockfall trajectory. The discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) is introduced to solve this problem. According to numerical results and empirical parameters DDA is simplified appropriately. An illustrative example is given to show the capability of the presented model to predict the rockfall trajectory of a high steep slope in Sichuan.